Disgusted to Silence
by BrDPirateMan
Summary: Neku and Shiki are a happy couple, but they're struggling with endless teasing from Eri, Beat and Rhyme. To put an end to all of their nonsense, our favourite couple resorts to making them so disgusted that they'll keep their mouths shut indefinitely.


**Disgusted to Silence  
**by BrDPirateMan

Neku Sakuraba. A boy who had seen countless horrors in the land of the lost souls, the UG.

Despite overwhelming odds, he fought hard and with unwavering determination to bring himself and his friends back to life. Twisted creatures called Noise, harbingers called Reapers, and seriously warped senior Reapers called Game Masters… he had battled them all and survived to tell the tale.

He had his own personal faults, but there was no doubt that he possessed amazing strength to be able to go toe-to-toe with all of those bizarre characters.

For all of his powers, however, there was one thing he had problems tackling…

Embarrassment.

"C'mon, yo," laughed his street-talking friend Beat, "Why won'tchu go have lunch with her? I'm sure she'll dig it."

Neku never took his eyes off of the world outside the window as he replied curtly, "I just feel like eating alone today."

It was lunch break at school, and Neku was starving. As he didn't bring any food from home, all he had was a bag of crisps that he bought from the vending machine. Hardly filling for a growing boy like him. Why did he choose not to buy a proper lunch at the canteen?

The answer was very simple.

Shiki Misaki, the love of his life, was eating there.

The inevitable follow-up question of why will be answered here and now. The relationship of Neku and Shiki started a few months earlier in ultimate secrecy. Both had anticipated needless and endless teasing from their friends, and they were painfully right. Merely sitting together was enough to garner all kinds of silly jokes that were lacking in subtlety. Their friends were a source of both moral support and exasperation.

Every time they wanted to spend a little time to themselves, holding hands and whispering sweet nothings to each other, they would have to find the weirdest, most secluded spots imaginable. Rooftops, dark alleys, under the willow tree in Miyashita Park… they'd been to all of those places and more. But no matter where they went, their friends would somehow find them. And then their tryst would fail.

That was exactly why Neku didn't want to have lunch with Shiki today, even if he wanted to. The teasing was bad enough when they were alone, but together it was absolutely unbearable. It was nice to have such immature friends. _Nice_ with a capital S for sarcasm_._

"Dude," chuckled Beat, "Shiki must be lonely now, ya know. Don't be mean, yo."

"Beat," huffed a thoroughly annoyed Neku, "will you stop saying weird nonsense like that? !"

"Oh, fo' sure… Jus' go see her now an' we're good."

"Gimme some space. In fact, give Shiki some space too. You guys are getting on our nerves."

"Whoa ho ho!" Beat's grin just got wider. He had hit the jackpot. He had heard what he wanted to hear so badly. "'Our' nerves? Heh heh! Good to know you two even think the same way!"

"Ah, shut up." Neku's face now had a tinge of redness, something which Beat unfortunately noticed very quickly.

"Betchu even blush at the same time as her, yo! Bwahahahaha!"

Neku turned from the window to Beat threateningly. "I'll kill you if you say one more word! Seriously, what the heck is wrong with you? !" The street-talker held his hands up as though in self-defense, backing away steadily out of the classroom. But he never stopped laughing.

"I can't stand it," grumbled the orange-haired kid. Poor guy. To be both hungry and mad was a terrible thing.

XOXOXOXOXO

Shiki was in the canteen, chowing down on a typical Japanese school lunch together with her fashionable gal pal Eri. But even though she was well out of earshot of Neku's angry rants, she could sense his displeasure. The ripples of negativity emanating from their classroom sent shivers down her spine.

"Shiki?" said Eri, concerned, "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." The bespectacled girl absent-mindedly poked around in her soup with a fork.

Eri's lips curled up into a knowing grin. "Thinking about Neku, then?"

Shiki was more vulnerable to blushing than he was. Her cheeks were boiling like the sands of the desert.

"N-No! Of course not!" She also had a tendency to be more panicky when dealing with her friends' teasing.

"Really?" drawled Eri, loving the way her friend was in denial – it was so cute. "But you and Neku are like spouses to each other by now."

"What? ! No! That's ridiculous!" Shiki had to stop eating momentarily or she would keep choking with each new thing Eri had to say.

Eri pretended to gaze off into the distance like a girl in love, sighing, "It must be nice to be in a relationship like you do. Every day I'd have to think about what I should say and do with my husband."

"What do you mean by that? ! Neku's not my husband!"

"Wow… Didn't think you'd take it quite in that direction."

"I-I'm not admitting or anything, okay? ! Just leave us alone!"

"'Us'?" Eri's eyes shone like sparkling jewels. "How interesting… It would seem the two of you are already enjoying a certain level of… closeness. Hee hee!"

"Eri…"

"Hmm?"

"S-Stop it… It's really embarrassing…"

"But as your best friend, I should know everything about you, right? I'm only pestering you because I care about your welfare. That's what friends do after all, am I not correct?"

"Look, I know friends should care about each other, but –"

"See?" Eri cut her off swiftly. "Even you agree! I have to know every little thing that goes on between you two. It's only natural!" She was squealing with sadistic glee.

How Shiki wished she could burn a hole in the ground with her eyesight so she could bury her face within. Or better still, vaporize Eri altogether.

XOXOXOXOXO

When classes ended for the day, Neku and Shiki were relieved of their two annoying friends. Eri had club activities to do, and as for Beat… it would be safe to say that his teacher currently had one or two nagging problems with him, so he was in the staff room, enduring maximum grilling from him.

His little sister Rhyme didn't know about this yet, so she was waiting outside the school gate for her brother for longer than expected. Neku and Shiki found her there and filled her in.

"Oh, so that's what happened," said Rhyme, although it was evident from her tone of voice that she probably already guessed what was up with Beat. She wasn't the least surprised.

Shiki said, "Sorry, but you might have to wait for just a little while longer."

"Well, it's no big deal, really." Rhyme had a small smile that gradually grew larger. "And there's no need to worry about me too much. After all, you should be worrying about yourselves more."

Deep in the pits of their stomachs, the two lovebirds had a bad feeling… "Just where are you going with this, Rhyme? !" asked Neku cautiously, although there was no real need for him to ask. He could more or less guess what was going to happen.

"It should be obvious by now, Neku… If you don't start acting like a man, you're never going to make real progress with you-know-who…"

Of course, they knew the identity of this "you-know-who" very well – even more so than the backs of their hands – and Shiki was blushing violently. Neku, who was coughing in a vain attempt to fight back his own impending blush, hurriedly tried to defend themselves before Shiki could. In all the times when she did the defending, they ended up looking worse off than before, and the teasing got seriously out of control.

"I don't have the slightest idea of what you're talking about," he said, with as straight a face as he could manage, "Are you sure you're not referring to someone else?"

"I don't think so," giggled Rhyme, "There's only one couple that I know of where the guy has orange hair and the girl carries a stuffed cat."

"R-Rhyme!" cried Shiki.

Neku herded her away. "Alright, that's enough… We should probably get back home now."

"Hey," called Rhyme, "on another note, are we still on for Saturday's movie?"

"Yeah," answered Neku.

Rhyme chortled softly. "I'll make sure you two get adjacent seats. It's cute to see what you guys will do together."

Neku ignored her and hustled Shiki away to safety. Even the innocent-looking little sister of Beat had a devious, crafty mind… Was there no one safe to talk to, apart from each other?

XOXOXOXOXO

"This is getting out of hand," groaned Shiki, who was slumped on the sofa, neck tilted skywards.

Neku's parents were out, so he had brought her over to his house. For a little while, they could be spared the embarrassment that arose from hanging out with their friends. Finally… a brief but much-needed moment of respite. Being in love wasn't easy.

He returned from the kitchen holding a can of juice in each hand, one of which he gave to Shiki. "Tell me about it. It's hard keeping our relationship under wraps." He joined her on the sofa.

"We always deny that we're going out," said Shiki, taking a sip of juice, "and we do it to avoid teasing from them. But we end up bearing the brunt of their jokes anyway, so what we're doing kinda defeats its own purpose, huh?"

"I keep thinking about what we could do to end their reign of terror once and for all."

"Me too… Nothing comes to mind."

Neku placed his drink on the coffee table before him. "At least we're safe from their clutches for the time being. And…" He leaned closer to Shiki suggestively. "…if they're not around, they wouldn't be able to disturb us."

Hearing that playful tone of his, she understood what he was getting at and couldn't resist a smile. She laid her can of juice beside Neku's on the table and snuggled up against him, nuzzling her face into his shoulder. "Yeah… I love it when we get a little peace to ourselves, even if it's just for a while."

"How else will I be able to admire those lovely eyes of yours?" He stroked her cheek gently with the knuckles of his hand. She loved it whenever he did that. It was so soothing, and for a few moments, however brief they may be, she could forget that her pesky friends even existed. More importantly, she could indulge in the love that she shared with Neku.

"And how else will I be able to gaze into your handsome face without looking weird?"

"Stuffed piggies are weird."

"Neku! Mr Mew is a cat! And he's not weird." With a growing smile, she whacked him softly and painlessly in the head. She knew he wasn't being sarcastic or anything; he was just pulling her leg, affectionately of course.

"At least he's made by the most amazing girl I've ever met." Neku gave her a small peck on the forehead, and while her face was already red to begin with, now it deepened in colour.

She purred softly. "Neku… I feel good when I'm with you."

Neku didn't know what to say to that. But the slight blush that appeared on his face was more than enough as a reply to Shiki.

There was no one in the house, their friends were nowhere to be seen, and they were completely alone… blissfully cut off from the world. It was the perfect opportunity to indulge in some harmless shenanigans. A nice, warm round of passionate kissing would indeed be nice…

Before their lips could even touch, however, Neku suddenly thought of something…

"Hold on. That's it!" he cried, abruptly pulling away, an action that surprised Shiki and disappointed her a little – they were just about to get to the best part, after all…

"What? What's… it?"

"I… I think I may have found a way to stop the teasing from Eri and her accomplices."

"Really? Are you serious?"

"Well…" Neku hesitated for a few seconds, ruffling his spiky orange locks. He often did that when he was in a bind. "Admittedly, there's a fifty-fifty chance that it may not work the way we want it to, but… if it does work, we can end their meddling forever."

"That doesn't sound like a very good percentage at all, Neku…"

"Why don't you hear what I have to say? This might sound like a freaky idea, but it might just be our way out of this mess."

"Alright, let's hear it then. And if you can convince me enough, I may just go along with it."

XOXOXOXOXO

The next day after classes were over, Eri thought it might be nice to have a meal together, the five of them in one cool gang.

"This is our chance," said Neku to Shiki as they made their way towards one of the food courts where their friends would probably already be waiting for them. "Are you ready, Shiki?"

"Y-Yeah, I think so," she muttered uneasily.

Neku had explained to her the grand plan that he had in mind, the one that had a 50% success rate. And the more she thought about it, the crazier she felt it was. It was simply too embarrassing because both of them would have to do things that they had never done before, and in front of their friends no less.

It was insane. It was ludicrous. It called for a course of action so impossibly daring that they might as well strip naked in public. But there was also a glimmer of hope… something that practically screamed, "If you don't try this plan you'll regret it!" And like an idiot, she went along with it.

What was this plan that they wanted to execute so as to put an end to the jokes from their pals?

"Make sure to wait for my signal, Shiki."

"Well, wish us luck, Neku… here they are." Eri, with her fellow Stooges Beat and Rhyme in tow, were waiting for them at a table. The approach of the unfortunate hero and heroine caused them to giggle like a bunch of little kids.

"Look at them," said Eri, audibly enough so that Neku and Shiki could hear her. "The sweet loving couple."

"The prince and his princess," quipped Rhyme. Beat, on the other hand, wasn't too good with witty remarks and couldn't think of one in time, so he just chuckled.

"Oh, cut it out, you guys," chided Neku, sounding a little annoyed. Shiki tried to shrug off their remarks in an attempt to fend off the onset of blood rushing to her cheeks, but like always, she ultimately failed. And they noticed, much to their glee.

They took their seats next to each other, which added to the mirth of the other members of this little circle of friends. And when the waitress came to take their order, things only got worse from there. Just when Neku was about to ask for shoyu ramen, Eri beat him to it, saying, "Why don't we order just one bowl? Then you and Shiki can, you know, share it."

Beat guffawed loudly, prompting Rhyme to hush him up, but she too was having problems hiding her laughter. Neku waved them off and placed his order with the confused waitress anyway, while Shiki had to fight off the urge to shove napkins into their mouths. Today's outing would prove to be more taxing than usual, and she wasn't pleased at all. Neither was Neku.

When was he going to get their plan started? If it could really work wonders, then she couldn't wait. Eri was becoming more and more tiring by the minute, and her partners-in-crime weren't making things any easier.

Neku wanted to go for it too. But he had to wait for the right moment…

Nothing egregious happened while they were eating. Everything seemed so normal and uneventful that Neku and Shiki couldn't help feeling a little suspicious. They were expecting the usual routine of Eri making some witty remark about them, Beat laughing his head off, and sweet innocent Rhyme joining in the fun… that little devil. Didn't they ever get tired? When would they be willing to stop?

Halfway through, Beat piped up, "Yo, guys, we cool for Saturday's movie?"

"Yeah," said Shiki, "Of course we're going. We wouldn't miss _Shibuya Sentinel 2_ for the world."

"I'm sure you wouldn't," chuckled Eri mischievously, "They say the movie has its sweet and tender moments."

Neku rolled his eyes to the heavens. _Here they come…_

"Ah! That's right!" Rhyme giggled, "There's that famous scene everyone's been talking about… The much-awaited kiss between the lead character and his longtime squeeze… The critics have praised it for its subtle but satisfying romance."

Beat, being an impatient person, was more direct. He was never one for dancing around the issue too much. "Ha ha! Tha's perfect for you two, yo!" Neku and Shiki had reached a point where such teasing became less embarrassing and more irritating. The latter was close to exploding from all the frustration, but before she could murder her friends with her chopsticks, she noticed Neku doing something.

He gave her the signal. At last! She got ready. All she could do now was play along with what Neku had in mind and hope for the best.

_It's go time!_

They waited for the laughter to settle down first. When Neku found the break he needed, he began.

He eyed Shiki for a good few seconds until he caught her attention. Apparently, this got everyone else interested too, since they were waiting expectantly for something to happen…

"Shiki?"

"Wh-What is it, Neku? You've been looking at me like that… Do I have something on my face?" The truth was that there wasn't. Her face was clean.

"Yeah… Here, let me wipe it off." He used his napkin to clean away the nonexistent smudge on her face. Needless to say, she blushed rapidly. And the whole thing was a total delight to Eri, Beat and Rhyme.

"Aww, look! That's so sweet!" squealed Eri, who was so enraptured that she feared that she might strangle Beat out of happiness.

"Wow, that's very gentlemanly of you, Neku," added Rhyme smilingly.

"Very imprecious, Phones!" said Beat, who meant to say "impressive". His glaring grammatical mistake didn't stop the others from laughing together with him, though.

_Yes, I'm sure you like this_, thought Neku a little bitterly, pleased that his plan for revenge was unfolding just as he planned. _But you're going to get a lot more of it… Just you wait._

Shiki cleared her throat to dispel some of her uneasiness. Plucking up as much of her courage as she could, she said, "Ah, um, thanks, Neku… It's nice of you to look after me like this, but really, you shouldn't concern yourself so…"

"Oh no, but I insist," countered Neku, turning on his boyish charm. "Listen, you're a very pretty girl, Shiki…"

Her face was so red that if it was any redder, just the colour on her cheeks would tear the very fabric of space. "Um… Gee… I…"

"Your face is perfect. So I don't want to see it get dirty anymore. Let me feed you, and then I can be sure that it'll stay nice and clean."

"N-Neku, you shouldn't! That's… That's embarrassing… I mean, I wouldn't mind if we did it in private, but this is a public place…"

Out of the corner of their eyes, they could see the smiles beginning to melt on the faces of Eri and her two cohorts. The three must have been thinking, "Um, what's happening?" It was a jarring change from their goofy, joking selves from earlier. They were growing confused… and no less alarmed. This wasn't something that should happen. No… Neku and Shiki should be floundering about like fish, flapping their arms like helicopter rotors… in short, getting all worked up and feeling very awkward. What in the world was _this? !_

"Well, there's no need to worry or be shy, Shiki," said Neku, smiling. He used his chopsticks to scoop up some ramen from his bowl, extending it towards her. "Because all you need to do is close those eyes of yours, open your mouth, and say 'Ahhh'."

She gasped, her heart a-fluttering and making crazy loop-de-loops. The other three had similar reactions too. Eri watched the whole spectacle with eyes as big as boulders. Beat sat frozen in time, noodles dangling from his mouth comically – he had forgotten to eat. The shock made Rhyme clutch her chopsticks so tightly that they looked like they were about to snap into two in her fingers. And they were made of hard, sturdy plastic.

"Neku… I… I can't do this… It's not right doing this here!"

"But your face will be splattered with sauce," protested Neku.

"Look, it's alright," stammered Shiki, "Well, like I said, we can always do this at home or something."

Neku paused to reconsider his actions. At last, he backed down, returning his chopsticks to his bowl. "Alright, I'll grant you your wish," he said, before adding with a slight chuckle, "Anything for my sweet little Shiki."

"Oh, Neku… You're so naughty," giggled Shiki, who then leaned in close to whisper into his ear, "but that's what I like about you." She made it such that everyone could hear her. Eri grew goosebumps all over. The noodles hanging out of Beat's open mouth slipped off and plopped back into his bowl. Rhyme cringed and was dangerously close to mangling her chopsticks in an outstanding feat of superhuman strength.

They smiled at each other for what seemed like the last time and continued to eat like nothing had happened. A collected sigh of relief could be heard from their three friends. The lovebirds' actions had attracted the attention of the surrounding patrons; indeed, it had taken scarce minutes for their table to be the most glanced-upon place in the entire food court. Some were fidgeting in their seats, others were struggling to keep their lunch in, and everyone was staring.

Eri, along with Beat and Rhyme, inwardly regretted having invited Neku and Shiki along in the first place. But who would have thought that these two, shy as lambs, would do such bold things? It was completely unfathomable. Understanding the basic concepts behind string theory was far, far easier.

Now that the atmosphere had calmed down somewhat, the whole world was slowly returning to normal. The gang was a bunch of lively young teenagers again, devoid of embarrassment or sickliness. At least, that's what the saner members of this group hoped, but they couldn't be more wrong.

Not long afterwards…

"Oh! Neku, you've got sauce on your cheek." It didn't take an idiot to be able to tell that it was Shiki who spoke.

"Really? So it's my turn now, huh?"

"Hold still, honey," said Shiki, as she reached for her napkin. The others gulped. _Honey?_ Neku and Shiki never called each other "honey"… Was the world ending? Not to mention it was kind of creepy…

Despite her racing heart, she proceeded to wipe away at his cheek gently, but it looked more like she was stroking it than anything.

"That's nice," sighed Neku, cupping his hand over hers, holding it in place. The graze of his fingertips on her skin made her stop breathing for a moment, and she grew so red in the face that cooked lobsters would be put to shame. "This feels good." It was clear from the serene look on his face that he was enjoying the warmth of her hand very much, and she felt the same way.

But all this was proving to be too much for Eri, Beat and Rhyme. As Neku and Shiki stared into each other's eyes and exchanged silent sweet nothings, the three jokers became aware of the entire food court looking at them yet again. It was mortifying, to say the least.

Eri felt that if she didn't intervene, they might all get arrested. "Hey, you two… Could you, like, not do that here? Please?"

Her plea fell on deaf ears. Neku and Shiki were too absorbed in their little world to notice or care. "Is it gone now?" he asked his girlfriend, "The smudge, that is."

"Oh, yes… Yes, it is… Hee hee."

"So kind of you," he said, flashing her a devilishly handsome grin. He slowly brought her hand to his mouth and lightly kissed her knuckles. She let out a gasp of surprise.

Beat was sweating hundreds of buckets from all the stares of the people. "Phones! Shiki!" he snapped, almost in a pleading way, "Cut it out, yo."

"Yeah," agreed Rhyme, with much urgency in her voice, "You guys are going way overboard." She wanted to shrink and disappear.

Did Neku and Shiki listen? Not a chance. They couldn't care less about anything at the moment. They were in love. And anyway, wasn't it the sweetest thing to show to the world how much they loved and cared for each other? What was more, wasn't it true that Eri, Beat and Rhyme simply couldn't get enough of the antics of these lovebirds?

Although by antics, they meant the funny, arm-flapping, "no-we're-not-going-out-honest" kind… not _this!_

"Hey, Shiki," continued Neku with honeyed, dulcet tones, "where do you think we should go afterwards?"

"I dunno… We could come to my house, but my parents are in…"

"Then how about we come to my house instead? Mum and Dad are always working and they leave the house empty, though you probably know that already…"

"Oh yes, I can't forget the other day when I visited you. It was my first time…" Shiki was coloured in a wonderful shade of maroon and she had this weird sappy smile on her lips. The others grew increasingly troubled. What did she mean by "first time"? ! Could they have already…? !

"Your first foot massage," said Neku, "How could I forget? I was good, wasn't I?" Ah, he didn't mean _that_. It was good to know. Rhyme melted into her seat like a floppy mound of aspic.

"Could we do it again? Neku, please? It felt so great."

"You know I wouldn't say no to that… I love your reaction when I rub the right spot on your feet. You simply go wild and –"

Eri could stand it no longer. She slammed the table with both hands, startling both Neku and Shiki enough that they jumped at the same time. Poor Rhyme almost fell off her chair. And Beat's body contorted into that squiggly pasta shape – all that was missing was the infamous "BWAAAAH!" She didn't care what everyone in the food court thought of her. What the lovebirds were doing was disgusting beyond human comprehension, and she had to stop it!

"Neku Sakuraba and Shiki Misaki!"

"Eri?" quavered Shiki, and for good reason. Whenever Eri called someone by their full name, it usually meant that she was displeased in some way. "I-Is… Is something wrong?"

"Of course!" snarled Eri, "Are you two stupid? ! We're eating in a public place! If you want to act all lovey-dovey then do it at home!"

Neku asked absent-mindedly, "Is it… that bad?"

"Whatchu think, yo? !" replied Beat, who quickly recovered from the shock to join Eri in chiding him and Shiki. "Tha' was the worst thing I'd ever seen, man. I'm… about ready to hurl for real, you know…" He clutched his stomach. His normally large appetite had long shrunk to subatomic proportions.

"Have some common sense, you two," sighed Rhyme, hiding her face in her hands, "Please."

"Uh… Ahahaha! Our bad!" Shiki pretended to be apologetic, while Neku simply rubbed the back of his head and stared up at the ceiling. Eri, Beat and Rhyme were acting exactly like how Neku had predicted.

"Let's just all hurry up and finish eating and then we're outta here," grumbled Eri, shooting not daggers from her eyes, but missiles. The nuclear warhead type.

Neku had to admit that the entire matter was very, very awkward. He couldn't resist a smile though. After all, his plan was a blinding success!

XOXOXOXOXO

That day, when Neku was relaxing at his home with Shiki, he outlined his grand plan to her.

"I think I might have found our solution," he said.

"Then let's hear it. I'll go along with it if you can convince me."

"It's simple, really… You know how they're always teasing us and implying that we should just come right out and admit that we're going out?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't we do just that… and then some?" Neku had a small smile.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Shiki was puzzled, but it was no surprise. The words 'and then some' could mean anything… and it was probably bad. "Are you telling us to show how much we love each other? To _them? !_"

"Precisely. If we overdo it, even they would think it's too much. You know how all those couples do all sorts of weird and disgusting stuff with each other in public?"

"Uh-huh… But…"

"Yup, we'll do that. Eri and Beat and Rhyme wouldn't be able to take it. They'll gag. They'll feel sick. But the most important thing is that they'll _stop their teasing._"

Shiki simply stared at him, incredulous. "Neku," she said, "You actually have a good plan going there… That said, you sound crazy."

"It _is_ crazy," her boyfriend admitted, "That's why it has to work."

XOXOXOXOXO

And so, like a crazy couple, they went ahead with this course of action. What astounded Shiki was how well it worked. As they were heading back to the Statue of Hachiko – a favourite hangout spot for all of them – Eri was silent, Beat was quiet, and Rhyme had six frogs in her throat. They were too shocked and dumbfounded to utter a single word. They never imagined Neku and Shiki to do something like that in public.

When they reached the statue of the stone dog, only then did Eri say something. But as she had been temporarily reduced to a shadow of her normally cheery self, it was… incongruously simple.

"So… the ramen was good, huh."

No one said a word.

She continued, taking the opportunity to berate her two lovebird friends, "Look, you guys, can you promise us one thing?"

Shiki gulped. "Y-Yes?" She could guess what it was that she wanted to say. So could Neku.

With unnecessary emphasis on each word and every syllable, Eri said, "Please do not do stuff like that when we're around ever again."

"Wh-What are you talking about?" asked Neku, pretending not to understand. "Are you talking about… this?" In one smooth deft movement, he swept Shiki close to his side, holding her waist gently as he did so. Before she could even gasp, he used his free hand to cup her cheek, grazing the skin with his fingertips. She found herself staring right into his eyes. Even though this was just another act, she couldn't help thinking how… sexy… Neku was when he did that.

Her friends did not share her sentiments. They recoiled in unison.

"Argh! I was right that the two of you are together," gasped Eri, "but… but you didn't need to act all lovey-dovey like _that!_"

"Spare us the torture, you guys!" said Rhyme, her blush reaching up to her ears.

Beat had one word to sum up his thoughts. "Barf!"

Still embracing a red-faced Shiki, Neku just said nonchalantly, "But we're in love, you know. Couples do that all the time. Get over it."

"No, they don't!" screamed Eri, who looked ready to breathe fire.

All at once there was a great clamour of things spoken by the three of them.

"Stop it already, okay? ! Thanks to you two, I… I may never sleep again!"

"How could you do that where people are looking? !"

"Tha's crazy, you hear? ! CRAZY!"

"Did your brains take the day off or what? !"

"Where's your sense of decency? !"

"For goodness' sake, don't EVER do that again!"

"Jus'… Jus' get outta our sight, yo!"

"Please!"

"NOW! ! !"

Neku and Shiki had no choice but to vacate the place, not that they minded. They left their friends to gag and choke in peace.

When they were safely out of earshot, and they were back to their normal, less crazy selves, they began to talk and reflect upon their victory.

"They wouldn't dare to make our lives hell again," said Neku, with a ghost of a grin on his face.

"It was the most insane thing we've ever done, Neku," said Shiki, wiping sweat from her forehead, "but I'm glad it worked out. I was initially doubtful of this, but after seeing their reactions, I'm positive we're finally headed towards a peaceful relationship."

"Yeah… Hey." He grabbed her arm. "I'll treat you to sundaes. I need to make it up to you for embarrassing you in front of everyone."

"I'll admit that if there was a better, less mortifying way to get around this, I'd go with it. But it all worked fine, so it's alright, I guess. Anyway, I can't resist a good sundae. Let's go!" Her grin shone as brightly as the sun as she hooked her arm around Neku's. He loved seeing her in such a good mood.

And so, the two no longer experienced any sort of interference from their friends. Now they could go on dates without being caught by surprise, and even if such an instance occurred, all they needed to do was snuggle up a little and Eri and company would disappear in the blink of an eye. Life was blissful.

But from this bliss arose a less-than-favourable side effect… one that neither Neku nor Shiki would have anticipated.

XOXOXOXOXO

It was Saturday night, and the whole gang was getting to their seats in the cinema. The air was tense and electric. The movie was the long-awaited sequel to _Shibuya Sentinel_, one of the most popular action films in Japan, well-loved by young and old alike. Everyone was eager to see if it could live up to the hype that its predecessor generated so much of.

The teenagers had booked a row of seats for the five of them, and they couldn't have chosen a better spot. It wasn't too far back nor was it too close to the front. It was perfect and they would be able to enjoy the movie in all its computer-generated explosion-packed glory.

"I'm so excited!" giggled Rhyme, cradling a large bucket of popcorn.

"Hell yeah," whooped Beat, unable to wipe the grin of anticipation off of his lips. "This oughta be one awesome movie!"

"And I hear that The Prince has a cameo in this film too," chirped Eri, "I can't wait to catch a glimpse of him."

Neku and Shiki noticed that despite yesterday's fiasco, their friends were acting normally. There was no uncomfortable atmosphere, no stern warnings, and no spluttering about the importance of sex education. Everything seemed as though what happened had been forgotten forever. This made our two lovebird protagonists slightly worried: did they really learn their lesson?

They did. But…

Shiki took her seat closest to the aisle, prompting Neku to head for the one beside her.

However, as quickly as greased lightning, Eri plopped into the seat that Neku wanted, much to his dismay, as well as Shiki's. They were planning to hold hands during the romantic parts of the movie… Yet his chagrin wouldn't end there.

"Hoi, Phones!" called Beat, nudging him to a seat even farther away. "Hurry and grab yo' seats, man. The movie's gonna start!"

"Well, actually, I was thinking of sitting next to Eri here – "

"Oh no you don't!" snapped Eri herself, with a firm and stern frown. "You're sitting with Beat and that's final."

"B-But why? I mean, that's on the farthest seat…" Inside Neku was a jumble of mixed emotions: confusion, disappointment and a tiny little bit of something called anger. What were they up to now? !

"If we put you and Shiki near each other, you're just going to go all sickly sweet with your lovebird stuff. Seriously, we can't stand it one bit!"

Rhyme had a gentler, more apologetic tone, but her words were equally sharp. "Sorry to have to separate you guys for tonight, but when it comes to romance, you guys are disgusting."

Shiki tried her best to dispel their fears. "Hey now, we're not going to – "

"Absolutely not!" came Eri's swift reply. And that was that.

Neku protested, "But…!"

"No 'buts', yo, movie's gonna start," cut in Beat, sitting down beside Rhyme. "Now stop complainin' and have fun."

Neku and Shiki exchanged glances at each other before the former heaved down on his seat disappointedly. He had a terrible thought. Whenever this little gang of theirs were to have an outing or a meal together, would they force him and his girl apart? Would it seriously be like this forever? ! How tiring it would be!

But alas, this would be their fate for a long time to come. The three were adept at keeping both boy and girl away from each other whenever they happened to be in the vicinity, for fear of seeing yet another horrifying display of wanton affection.

The movie was overflowing with non-stop action exciting enough to sate the hungriest of movie buffs for a million years. But when it came to the inevitable scene of the dashing hero and beautiful heroine sharing a passionate kiss, our two teenage protagonists were left sighing in longing instead of sighing at each other lovingly.

The poor kids!


End file.
